Malleswar Yenugu, a first-year geophysics Ph.D. student in the Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences at the University of Houston, has been awarded a geoscience grant from ExxonMobil’s Global Geoscience Recruiting organization. The $7,500 grant from ExxonMobil to the department is for the support of Yenugu’s graduate research.

His research proposal was selected by chief geoscientists at ExxonMobil as one of 10 geoscience grant recipients. More than 80 high-quality proposals were received from graduate students at universities across North America.

Yenugu’s dissertation title is “Geophysical understanding of kerogen maturity for organic-rich shales.” He is doing research under the supervision of Dr. De-Hua Han. The primary objective of the research is to understand how the maturity of organic matter in shales will affect the seismic elastic properties. His research is a cross-disciplinary approach involving geophysics, rock physics, geology and geochemistry.

In early 2013, Yenugu will have the opportunity to discuss his research at a science conference in Houston organized by ExxonMobil.